The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is excited to announce that Cathy Lennon has been hired as its new general manager. Cathy will take over the reins as general manager of OFA, following the retirement of Neil Currie on August 30, 2019. A long-time agricultural leader and advocate for the sector, Lennon brings more than 20 years of experience to lead Ontario’s largest general farm organization.
A Perth County native, Cathy’s agricultural career began with the Agricultural Adaptation Council. She served as general manager of Ontario Sheep Farmers, leading the organization through upheaval and trade disputes related to the BSE crisis. She was a program manager with Agricorp, and senior lender with Farm Credit Canada working across all agricultural sectors and commodities. Most recently, Cathy was general manager of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers.
“It’s an exciting new era for OFA as we welcome Cathy into the organization,” says Keith Currie, OFA president. “Agriculture has big opportunities and no end of challenges, and Cathy’s experience in so many facets of the agricultural sector will be a tremendous asset for the entire OFA organization.”
Cathy graduated from the University of Waterloo with a BA in political science, and is a Class 9 Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) grad. Over the last two decades, her professional career has centred around working for farmers to make a positive difference in their lives and their farm businesses. Cathy and her daughter live in Rockwood, Ontario.
“OFA is grateful to the long-term leadership of retiring general manager Neil Currie,” says Currie. “He had led our organization through 19 years with significant changes and challenges, and he leaves OFA with a strong team in place for Cathy to step into.”
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 38,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer.
source: media release, OFA
